I have a 2014, when it snows I press the button to disable the economy mode and the esc and all is well. This significantly lowers the amount of time the esc kicks in, it still feels like it is there but not as obnoxious. It could also be when the wheels spin the power is transferred to the wheels with grip, something is going on just not sure what. Trust me, I am able to rip some nice doughnuts and fish tail around turns fairly nicely. My 01 4runner was like what you describe, in 2 wheel drive you could not disable the traction control and it would almost completely kill the motor if you peeled out, I could definitely see this putting you in danger.

I am in NJ so I have had plenty of snow to test this year, the truck is a beast in the snow even with the stock tires. I have driven through at least a foot of snow, un-plowed without any problems.

I'd really like to know if the 2014s suffer from the same problem. I ask because my wife's edge is superb ... is has something similar to QD but it never kills power. I hope improvements have been made since gen 1 of the wk2.